Performing
adding it up
Now and again I go for a jog without music. After the crunchy/clear headed/isn’t this moment grand thing passes (and it does, without fail), I return to the usual fragmented contemplation that running is supposed to help alleviate. Cresting a hill today, an equation popped onto my mental chalkboard, the results of which were too [...]
bubbada bubbada
By hook, crook, bell, book and candle, I managed to infiltrate the ranks of the jazz department when I was at CSUN. Classically trained folks are usually a liability in such settings: stuck to the page, desperate for someone to just tell us what to play. I carved something of a niche for [...]
up and down
Getting good at something happens in cycles. My latest learning adventure has been Lindy hop. After my first 2 lessons, I was emboldened. I dove into the deep end and got crazy serious about it. I’ve had a few rough nights where I didn’t feel super coordinated or leads did things like try to give [...]
Teachers: If you'd like to have a workshop with me (where anyone, any instrument, can ask ANY question) email me! http://t.co/MdhHE1Iy
be smart.
Fact: I had to counsel a 9-year-old to lay off for a few weeks because she was developing tendinitis as a result of tension and misuse of her 4th finger. Fact: I began dealing with tension-induced injuries around age 12. My current ability to play comes courtesy of luck, surgery, yoga, miles of [...]
Read MoreDVD project!
I wrote AMCM to try and fill some of the gaps in the “how-to” canon. Mostly, I thought we needed a text featuring a bunch of pictures and the occasional justification/explanation for certain bits of technique. There’s another volume in the works- I have all of the content down, but this time I’m trying [...]
Read Moreletting go
Lindy hop as metaphor: my instructor constantly has to remind me to wait for a lead and then follow it to the end of the momentum, as I’m awfully clever at guessing what I think will happen… …and even if that’s not what my partner means, he’s forced to do it anyway. Probably a good [...]
Read Morenew adventures in music geekery
Perhaps it was growing up around a dad who seemed to know how everything worked (right down to the subatomic level) or maybe I’m just a junkie for the pedagogical process, but I’ve always wanted to learn how to rehair bows and work on instruments. I’ve haunted benches from Los Angeles to London and [...]
Read Moreperfectly imperfect practice
Practice is good. Common sense tells us it’s necessary for progress and essential to maintain our skill. In my lessons, I rarely teach people how to play- it’s mostly about diagnosing what makes something difficult and then developing strategies and routines designed to break down the difficulty. I teach people how to practice. The playing [...]
Read MoreIf
I was watching SportsCenter when the coverage turned to NASCAR, whose championship was determined last night by the narrowest margin in history. It came down to the wire with Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart, who had been in something of a public war of words (and fenders, and pit crews) as they emerged [...]
Read Morebubbada bubbada
By hook, crook, bell, book and candle, I managed to infiltrate the ranks of the jazz department when I was at CSUN. Classically trained folks are usually a liability in such settings: stuck to the page, desperate for someone to just tell us what to play. I carved something of a niche for [...]
Read MoreQuantico
As a kid, people always asked what I wanted to do when I grew up. Maybe they could already detect my ill-fated and inconvenient relationship with music and were testing the waters for a more rational direction. It was around the age of 12 that I could say with eye-rolling certainty that I was going [...]
Read Moreup and down
Getting good at something happens in cycles. My latest learning adventure has been Lindy hop. After my first 2 lessons, I was emboldened. I dove into the deep end and got crazy serious about it. I’ve had a few rough nights where I didn’t feel super coordinated or leads did things like try to give [...]
Read MoreBeltway fandango, take 2
Ok peeps. Here’s the flyer for the Rockville lesson preview. I’m typically more old-school: I revere word of mouth and taking the time to establish a reputation, so being enterprising about lessons is a little uncomfortable for me. Nonetheless, I have a fire under me to get the ball rolling. Contact me here to RSVP [...]
Read More
